POLICE are hunting an arsonist who tried to burn down the headquarters of a Hampshire sports club.

A burglar broke into a wooden pavilion at Swan Green Cricket Club, Lyndhurst, and started three separate fires in the kitchen area. Two customers at the nearby White Swan pub rushed over with fire extinguishers and tried to tackle the flames.

The blaze wrecked an internal wall, ruined the pavilion's electrical system and destroyed fixtures and fittings.

Now the club faces a race against time to repair the building before its first fixture of the new season on April 28.

Full story in today's Daily Echo.